Fishing (The Sims 3)
Fishing is a skill in The Sims 3.
The Sims 3 incorporates a fishing skill that is gained by sims fishing in the ponds or ocean around the map. The higher their skill, the more types of fish they can catch. Books can be found at the bookstore showing the bait that can be used to catch specific fish, but a sim can determine the bait through trial and error by simply selecting a bait and seeing what they catch. Water can be inspected to see what known fish can be caught there, and whether the fish are active.
The skill is augmented by the Angler and Loves The Outdoors traits. Sims with the Childish and Insane traits can fish in swimming pools.
To find out good fishing spots and available fish species there in the neighborhoods, See Fishing Spots
Statistics
Number Caught, Fish Types Caught, Heaviest Fish Caught, Most Money Earned from Selling a Fish, Total Money Earned from Fishing
Challenges
- Amateur Ichthyologist
- Amateur Ichthyologists have caught at least one of every fish type. Their deep understanding of marine life helps them catch bigger fish than normal sims.
- Note: 21 types total, ca. 4.7% per type
- Commercial Fisherman
- Commercial Fishermen have caught at least 350 fish. They often catch more fish in less time than normal sims.
Abilities
| Level | Ability |
|---|---|
| 1 | Inspect Water |
| 3 | Choose bait |
Every two levels the game announces the sim can catch more fish and to check the bookstore.
The sim can learn the bait type for a specific fish species by buying and reading the fishing books from the bookstore or just by successfully catching a particular species once using the right bait type. Fishing Books are not available in the community public library.
For stocking a pond with new type of fish currently not available, see Ponds section below.
Fish
| Image | Level | Fish | Habitat | Rarity | Bait | Value [1] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Anchovy.jpg | 0 | Anchovy | Salt Water | Common | Tomato | 
|
§12 |
| File:Minnow.jpg | 0 | Minnow | Fresh Water | Common | Apple | 
|
§12 |
|
1 | Goldfish | Fresh Water | Common | Lettuce | 
|
§17 |
| File:Alley Catfish.jpg | 1 | Alley Catfish | Both | Uncommon | Cheese | 
|
§24 |
|
2 | Jellyfish | Salt Water | Common | Grapes | 
|
|
|
2 | Rainbow Trout | Fresh Water | Common | Egg | 
|
§20 |
| File:Red Herring.jpg | 3 | Red Herring | Both | Common | Links | .jpg)
|
§5 |
| File:Tuna.jpg | 3 | Tuna | Salt Water | Common | Onion | 
|
|
| File:Siamese Catfish.jpg | 4 | Siamese Catfish | Both | Common | Bell Pepper | File:Bell Peper.jpg | |
| File:Tragic Clownfish.jpg | 4 | Tragic Clownfish | Salt Water | Uncommon | Watermelon | 
|
|
| File:Blowfish.jpg | 5 | Blowfish | Salt Water | Uncommon | Potato | 
|
|
|
5 | Piranha | Fresh Water | Uncommon | Minnow | File:Minnow.jpg | §41 |
| File:Black Goldfish.jpg | 6 | Black Goldfish | Fresh Water | Common | Goldfish |
|
§52 |
|
6 | Salmon | Both | Common | Lime | 
|
|
|
7 | Swordfish | Salt Water | Common | Anchovy | File:Anchovy.jpg | |
|
7 | Shark | Both | Uncommon | Red Herring | File:Red Herring.jpg | §67 |
|
8 | Angelfish | Both | Uncommon | Alley Catfish | File:Alley Catfish.jpg | §98 |
| File:Vampire Fish.jpg | 8 | Vampire Fish | Fresh Water | Rare | Garlic | 
|
§237 |
| File:Robot Fish.jpg | 9 | Robot Fish[2] | Science Facility[3] | Rare | Piranha |
|
§274 |
|
9 | Lobster | Both | Common | Tuna | File:Tuna.jpg | §140 |
| File:Deathfish.jpg | 10 | Deathfish | Graveyard [4] | Very Rare | Angelfish |
|
§1,054 |
- ↑ Value of fish depends on weight as well as quality. So this is approximate average of perfect quality fish.
- ↑ The only fish that's able to weight near a ton (1,000 Kilograms)
- ↑ Found in pond behind Science Facility in Sunset Valley and in river near to Science Facility in Riverview.
- ↑
Found in pond in Graveyard in Sunset Valley
and the part of the river above the Graveyard,
where black fish are seen swimming in Riverview.
Use the collection helper if you cannot find this. It appears at 0 AM - 5 AM.
Trophies
Making your own trophies is easy! Simply just go to your inventory, click on the fish you wish to be mounted, and click send to be mounted usually a small fee around 70 Simoleons. Your trophy should arrive the next day in your mailbox. If you don't want to mount your fish you can buy a fish bowl in buy mode. All fish fit in bowl, One fish per bowl. Fish is nameable, but you must feed fish each day or it will die. You can scoop fish out of bowls, and put them back in your inventory if you change your mind.
Ponds
If you have 10 or more fish of one type in your inventory, you can stock any pond with that fish. By stocking fish, you can introduce new type of fish in that pond. Then, the pond will contain an unlimited supply of that fish type for fishing.
Any type of fish or any type of pond will do, including Deathfish and pond not owned by you. There is no limit on how many different fish types there can be in one pond.
In the case of the Death Fish, they can be caught any time of the day in such pond. This will enable you to fish for Deathfish (or any other fish, for that matter) at any time of the day.
It does not matter whether the pond is in residential lot owned by your sim or any other NPC sims, or in community lot like pond in the park. So you don't have to build your own pond to do this.
Of course, you can create your own pond in the lot owned by you by selecting "Ponds" from the build menu and applying it to the area where you want your pond. Then, stock the pond with 10 fish of the same type in your inventory.
Opportunities
| Opportunity | Description | Reward |
|---|---|---|
| A Fish of Life and Death | Catch a Deathfish and Deliver Deathfish at the Science Facility to earn some money. | §350 + § Variable |
| A Plumber and Fisherman | Unclog Pipes at City Hall before time runs out to earn some money. | §500 + 1x Random Fish |
| An Excellent Catch | Catch an excellent fish and Sell Fish at the Supermarket to earn some money. | § Variable |
| Aquarium Fishing | Attend Fishing Competition at the Supermarket before time runs out to catch an assortment of fish. | §1,000 + 5x Random Fish |
| Fishing for Suits | Teach Fishing Seminar at the Business Office before time runs out to earn some money. | § Variable |
| Fresh Fish | Catch 3 fish, then Sell Fish at the Supermarket to earn some money. | § Variable |
| Funny Looking Fish | Catch a Tragic Clownfish at the Theatre to earn some money. | §250 + § Variable |
| Heaps of Fresh Fish | Catch 15 fish, then Sell Fish at the Supermarket to earn some money. | § Variable |
| Lobsters in Demand! | Catch a Lobster and Sell Lobster to the Supermarket to earn some money. | §100 + § Variable |
| Lots of Fresh Fish | Catch 6 fish, then Sell Fish at the Supermarket to earn some money. | § Variable |
| Monster from the Deep | Catch Behemoth at the Science Facility before time runs out to earn some money. | §4,000 |
| Piscine Perfection | Catch a perfect fish and Sell Fish at the Supermarket to earn some money. | § Variable |
| Robot Fish v2.0 | Catch a Robot Fish and Sell Robot Fish at the Science Facility to earn some money. | §350 + § Variable |
| Say Hello to My Little Fish | Catch a Black Goldfish and Sell Black Goldfish at the Police Station to earn some money. | §650 + § Variable |
Strange Occurrings
Sometimes a Sim may fish up an old box which will give them various things. The box randomly picks and grants the Sim one object from the following list: a Laptop Computer, a Rubber Duck, a Guitar, Bubble Bath, a Mood Candle, a Birthday Cake, a Flame Fruit, a Death Flower, a Money Tree Seed, an Omni Plant Seed, or a Mysterious Mr. Gnome.